It's An Aca-Wonderful Life
by nweeks3
Summary: In the third incarnation of My Complete Pitch Perfect Story - Part 1, Beca learns what life would be like if she never joined the Bellas.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've noticed that the It's A Wonderful Life gimmick has been overdone on TV shows and I'm surprised no one else thought of doing that here before I did. Well, let's see how this turns out.**

This story takes place not long after Who Framed Aubrey Posen.

CHAPTER 1:

One day in mid-December, the very last Bellas practice for the semester was coming to a close.

"I should've taken that cardio tip more seriously." Amy admitted.

"How much have you done?" Aubrey asked.

"You just saw it." Amy said.

"Chloe, you need to hit that last note." Aubrey said.

"I can't. It's impossible because of my nodes." Chloe said.

"Well, if you can't do it, someone else will have to." Aubrey said.

"I think Beca should take my solo." Chloe suggested.

"Wait; you want me to solo?" Beca asked.

"Yeah. Come on, you'll do great at it." Chloe said.

"Just one condition; that I get to pick another song and do an arrangement." Beca said.

"Let me break it down for you: Our goal is to get to the finals and these songs will get us there." Aubrey reminded her.

"Oh, I beg to differ!" Beca argued.

"Aca-scuse me?" Aubrey fired back.

"Think about it, Aubrey; do you honestly think the judges at regionals will want to listen to songs that are way too retro for this day & age?" Beca asked.

"Yes! Because I'm always right!" Aubrey said firmly.

"Aca-scuse me? You've been wrong lots of times in your life!" Chloe reminded her.

"Like you're any worse?" Aubrey fired back causing Chloe to scoff at her.

"ENOUGH! If you're not willing to let me pick another song, then I will not solo." Beca said firmly.

"Very well. Amy, you'll solo." Aubrey said.

"YEAH!." Amy said excited.

"Okay, everyone. Have a good holiday break and please remember the choreography so it'll be fresh in your mind when we return. See you in a month." Aubrey said as everyone left.

"You okay?" Chloe asked Beca as the two walked out

"Yeah. I just think it'd be nice if Aubrey would be willing to sit down and listen to my mixes." Beca said.

"Well, I think your mixes are great. And I think she should too if she ever heard them." Chloe said as Beca pondered an idea.

"There is one way..." Beca said before taking out her phone and texting to Aubrey "Meet me at my dorm room at 6pm tonight."

* * *

Later that evening, Beca was working on a mix in her dorm room when someone knocked on her door.

"Come in." Beca said as Mary Elise entered.

"Hey, Beca. I just wanted to say goodbye." She said.

"Heading home for the holiday?" Beca asked.

"I'm transferring schools." Mary Elise said.

"Why?" Beca asked.

"I came to this school to be a Bella, and now that I got kicked out there's no reason for me to stay here. I would've left right after being kicked out, but I thought it'd make more sense to at least finish the semester." Mary Elise explained.

"Oh. Well, wherever you end up going, good luck to you." Beca said hugging Mary Elise.

"Thanks. I'll never forget you, Beca." Mary Elise said.

"Take care." Beca said as Mary Elise left.

30 minutes later, someone else knocked on her door.

"Come in." Beca said as Aubrey entered.

"Hey, Beca. You wanted to see me?" Aubrey asked.

"Yes. Have a seat." Beca said pointing at her desk chair.

Aubrey sat down, and Beca put Aubrey's hands behind her back and handcuffed them.

"Ha! Now you'll HAVE to listen to my mixes." Beca said.

"You got to be out of your mind if you think I'd be willing to listen to your mixes." Aubrey said.

"I thought you'd say that." Beca said as she proceeded to grab a roll of duct tape and taped Aubrey's mouth shut. "Don't fight it. Just sit back...and enjoy the show." She continued before pressing Play on one of her mixes.

15 minutes later after Beca had Aubrey listen to her stuff, she took the tape off of Aubrey's mouth.

"Ow!" Aubrey yelled from the pain of having the tape being removed.

"Well?" Beca asked waiting for input.

"First of all, NEVER tape my mouth shut again. Second, I will admit...you have a good ear when it comes to music. But don't think this'll change my mind about our set. As long as I still hold the pitch pipe, what I say goes." Aubrey said as she left while Beca stood there with a shocked look on her face.

"Well, that could've gone better." Beca said before someone else knocked at the door. "Haven't you torn me down enough, Aubrey?" She asked not knowing it wasn't Aubrey knocking.

"It's Chloe." She said from behind the door.

"Oh. Come in." Beca said as Chloe entered.

"Hey, just thought I'd drop by before I go home. You okay?" Chloe asked.

"My plan backfired." Beca said bummed.

"You mean your plan to get Aubrey to listen to your mixes?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, I got her to listen to them all right. It's just she's STILL not convinced that her idea of a set list won't lead us to a national championship." Beca said.

"And I agree with you. But it's like I said; there's just no reasoning with her." Chloe said.

"There are days I wish I never joined the Bellas." Beca said tearfully.

"(gasps) Beca, don't you EVER say that! The Bellas love you. You know that." Chloe assured her.

"Then why doesn't it feel like that sometimes?" Beca asked.

"Listen, I know you're upset things didn't work out like you hoped. But some things in life aren't worth getting worked up over." Chloe said wiping Beca's tears.

"Maybe you're right. And for pete's sake, her set list better end up working out. If it doesn't, I've got four words prepared for her..." Beca said.

"I told you so?" Chloe asked.

"Exactly!" Beca said.

"Alright. Well, I have to get going. But, I'll text you later. Merry Christmas." Chloe said grabbing her purse and leaving.

"Same to you." Beca said before falling asleep.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Not going to lie, the most difficult part of writing this chapter was the last few lines. Originally I was going to have Chloe give Beca an example of something that got her disappointed when she was five, but I was drawing a blank of what possible example to use, so I couldn't go through with that.**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: At one point, I was prepared to address something in a Guest review, but I got talked out of doing so. So I won't do that. Anyway, let's get back into this story.**

After Beca fell asleep, she woke up in an alternate universe.

"What the? Is this my dorm room?" Beca asked noticing it to be different.

"It is. In a different time." Amy said.

"Amy? Is that you?" Beca asked.

"I'm your Christmas guardian angel and I've granted you your wish." Amy said.

"What are you talking about? Where am I?" Beca asked.

"You wished you never joined the Bellas. So I'm here to show you what's different." Amy said as she took Beca to the first stop on the journey. They were at what auditions would've been if Beca didn't show up last minute.

"I can't believe she didn't show." Chloe said bummed.

"Well, it's like I said before: She's just too alternative for us." Aubrey reminded her.

"Maybe to you, but not to me. And I know she said when we met she 'didn't sing', but I heard her sing. She has an amazing voice." Chloe said.

"Okay, so she still heard me sing in the shower, but why didn't I show up at auditions?" Beca asked.

"You obviously had something more important on your mind than joining the Bellas." Amy said.

"Like what?" Beca asked.

"I'll show you." Amy said.

Amy lead Beca over to a classroom in a different building on the campus. As they were walking, Beca had this thought..."Whatever this was, it had to have been something other than my job at the radio station or my desire to produce music in L.A.".

"Oh, it was." Amy said as she showed Beca a classroom with students wearing sombreros and speaking Spanish.

"The Spanish Club?" Beca asked. "But that's impossible; I know my dad wanted me to join a club on campus, but I don't even speak Spanish. I'm not even that fluent in a foriegn language." She stated.

"After your dad told you to join one club on campus, you spent a whole week studying Spanish before joining the Spanish Club." Amy pointed out.

"I would never..." Beca said confused by what she was hearing.

"You want to move on?" Amy asked.

"Please! Maybe the next thing you'll show me will make a bit more sense." Beca said as Amy lead her to the Bellas rehearsal room.

"Why are we at a Bellas rehearsal?" Beca asked.

"To show you how different things are without you as a Bella." Amy said.

Beca noticed all of the other Bellas feeling miserable due to Aubrey's poor set list choices.

"So Aubrey's using the exact same set. That's what she does, right?" Beca asked.

"Yes. The difference here is, you're not around to remind people how old and outdated those songs are. As a result, none of the Bellas had to courage to step up and do the same thing themselves. Not even Chloe." Amy said.

"That's so sad." Beca said sympathetically. "So, are you implying that I'm the glue of the Bellas?" She asked.

"Bingo!" Amy said.

"I never thought of it that way." Beca said.

"Come on...there's one more thing we must see." Amy said as she lead Beca out to the quad.

"Remember that guy Chloe was in the shower with when she heard you singing?" She asked.

"Yeah. I didn't catch what his name was though." Beca said.

"I think his name was Tom. Anyway, since you didn't become a Bella, Chloe's friendship with Tom only grew stronger. Observe." Amy said as Beca noticed Chloe & Tom kissing.

"I knew there had to have been something going on with those two." Beca said.

"Yeah. Since you didn't become a Bella, you & Chloe never became best friends. As a result, Chloe & Tom's relationship grew to become more than a random hook-up." Amy said.

"Okay, I get it; without the Bellas, I apparently learned Spanish and never became best friends with Chloe." Beca recapped.

"Have you seen enough?" Amy asked.

"Yes! I want to go back to the real world where everything is how it should be." Beca pleaded.

"Come on. I'll walk you back to your dorm." Amy said as she lead the way.

When they arrived at the dorm room, Beca fell back to sleep in her bed before waking up in her dorm room in the real world.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3:

When Beca woke up the next morning...

"It was all a dream?" Beca asked surprised. "I got to call Chloe." She said as she grabbed her phone to do so.

"Hey, Beca." Chloe said answering her phone.

"Chloe, you won't BELIEVE the dream I had last night." Beca said.

"Tell me." Chloe said.

"After I was feeling down last night, I felt like I was in another version of 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Amy was the guardian angel and showed me what my life would be like if I never became a Bella." Beca recapped.

"Really? So what did you see in your dream?" Chloe asked curious.

"Apparently, I learned to speak Spanish in a week, Aubrey still used the same set list, and you & I never became best friends." Beca recapped.

"Well, unlike in your dream, I'm proud to call you a best friend in the real world." Chloe said.

"Me too. Merry Christmas, best friend." Beca said with a big smile.

"Same to you." Chloe said before hanging up.

* * *

A month and a half later in early February, it was time for regionals at Carolina University.

"Welcome to another season of some acapella competition." John said.

"Where many groups will be vying for a trophy by making music with their mouths." Gail added.

First up was The Sockapellas. A group of acapella singers who held sock puppets while they sang. Afterwards, it was time for the Bellas to go on. As they went onstage, John & Gail notice more variety in the group compared to before.

"Wow, this does not look like the fresh nubile faced Bellas we're used to seeing." John pointed out. "Is it me or are those skirts just not working anymore?" He asked.

Aubrey blew the pitch pipe and lead them into the first song in the set which is the exact same song used in the previous year's finals. Though this time, Aubrey is not hoping for a repeat of last year's incident (which Gail remembered). The song started with Chloe doing the same solo Alice did the previous year before handing the mic to Aubrey. It was that moment Aubrey was given another chance at that same solo from the previous year. Fortuantely for her, things go better this time. "And she makes it through folks. No cookie toss." Gail said which prompted a smile of relief from Chloe. After Aubrey's solo, she handed the mic back to Chloe for the second song in the set "Eternal Flame." Then came the third song "Turn the Beat Around" which Amy was given the solo for. For her solo, she went all out compared to how it was rehearsed.

Afterwards, the Treblemakers took the stage for their rendition of "Right Round."

Then came the awards ceremony. Thanks to Amy's solo, the Bellas just barely placed 2nd, allowing them to advance to the semi-finals.

* * *

On the bus ride back to campus, Aubrey called everyone's attention.

"Great work, Bellas. According to our score sheet, the Sockapellas almost beat us. And Amy, you need to do the routine EXACTLY the way we rehearsed it. No surprises." She said firmly.

"You should be thanking her. If she hadn't done what she did, we probably would not be advancing." Beca argued.

"You don't know that." Aubrey fired back.

"Just be glad we're moving on." Beca said as the others agreed.

"If there's nothing more to be said, rehearsal tomorrow at 8am sharp." Aubrey said before the Bellas fell asleep for the remainder of the trip back to campus.

THE END!

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yeah, I chose to write a different ending instead of the actual one where Beca gets mistakenly arrested only to be bailed out by Jesse & her dad. Either way, the ending of this story would transition to the events in The Sick Bella.**


End file.
